Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Temporary train service to keep rural residents in Highlands connected during coronavirus pandemic

Jan Robinson, manager of the Loch Ossian Youth Hostel.
Jan Robinson, manager of the Loch Ossian Youth Hostel.

A temporary train service has been introduced to connect rural residents in the Highlands during the coronavirus pandemic.

A drop-off in the number of passengers has led to the Fort William sleeper service being suspended and ScotRail operating a reduced timetable.

However, the move has led to concerns some rural communities are unable access larger towns for essential shopping and medical appointments.

Now ScotRail has confirmed it will operate a temporary train service in the Highlands from Rannoch to Fort William, on Mondays and Thursdays, to improve access to services during the coronavirus pandemic.

Corrour train station.

Jan Robinson, who runs the Loch Ossian Youth Hostel in Corrour, said: “This will be a fantastic help to me and others in this very rural community on the edge of Rannoch Moor.

“We were worried we’d miss out on trips for essential shopping and some people have important medical appointments coming up that they might have had to cancel.

“The reinstated services are also a welcome safety net for workers on the Corrour Estate in case the private road is blocked or there are vehicle breakdowns.”

Temporary train service to ensure Highlands communities ‘are not stranded’

The service will leave Rannoch at 8.52am and call at Corrour, Tulloch, Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge before arriving in Fort William shortly before 10am.

The train will continue to run twice a week until the sleeper service from London to Fort William is reinstated.

Alister MacLennan, ScotRail’s station team manager in the West Highlands, said: “The last thing we want to do is leave people stranded or vulnerable during this very difficult time for everyone.

Scotrail temporarily axe 20 services in the north as passenger numbers drop

“Although we have a duty to run the rail network as efficiently as possible to deliver the best value for taxpayers, we also have a responsibility to our customers in some of the remotest parts of Scotland.

“We’re confident the timetable changes we’ve had to make are helping us provide a critical service for key workers, but we are also willing to look at reinstating certain services if it becomes clear they are vital to the local community.”

Hege Hernæs, secretary of West Highland Community Rail Partnership, added: “A single week’s response time is impressive for a large organisation like ScotRail and demonstrates their willingness to work flexibly and in liaison with lineside communities in this time of crisis.”